Board Meeting Minutes:
WORTHLEY POND ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING
Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 6:30 p.m. Workshop Meeting: at Placey’s
Attendance: Tim Placey, John Shea, Steve Gallant, Orville Lind, Dave & Sherry Clement, Sheila Delamater, Ron Ashworth, Kathy Barrett and Kathy Hussey.
Welcome: Tim welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked all for taking the time to attend. He expressed thanks to Dave & Sherry Clements for their many successes with the Worthley Pond Association in the past years. Those in attendance expressed gratitude as well.
Courtesy Boat Inspections: John Shea stated he has begun his annual efforts to get individuals scheduled for help with the 2009 Courtesy Boat Inspections and that things are looking good. It was noted that Salmon Pond in Belgrade has milfoil. It was also expressed that boats, trailers and fishing equipment should be checked when doing milfoil checks.
The Harassment & Discrimination Policy was reviewed by all. Suggestions were to change the word employment to volunteer in many places. Steve motioned to adopt the policy; Sheila seconded; motion carried. Any other changes can be made in the future.
Road Signage: Dave Clements spoke on the issue of the Bulletin Board and Informational Boards placed on behalf of the Association. Kathy Hussey at the Town was notified by Gene Uhead at MDOT (Dixfield) regarding these signs being in violation of the Maine Billboard Law. Signs erected by civic/public organizations announcing events (and Town signs) are exempt from law. Further research will be done to see how / if the Association can get these signs placed legally. Some questions to be asked are:
- Are we okay if the signs are only placed on Town roads?
- If the signs are placed on Town property is it okay?
----- not an obstruction – not advertising.
- If the Town owns the signs does it make a difference – exempt?
- If the signs are moved out of the Town right-of-way is that okay?
------ 33’ from center ---- on ROW or visible from ROW
- Can WPA make application to place these signs – make it legal?
- Can the signs be left at present – at least until Labor Day.
Buoy Application: Tim said that he had been provided all the information available to the present time. He will be taking over the process. Tim indicated that it is possible that the Public Boat Launch will be installed next year. Inland Fisheries & Wildlife will not stock the pond without the buoy system in place. Galvanized chain and anchors will need to be purchased as well and the buoys will need to be installed for a certain timeframe. It is estimated that 8-12 areas (rocks / shallow areas) need to be marked. Estimated cost of $500 for the buoys only. Kathy motioned to have Tim move forth with purchasing what is needed; Sheila seconded; motion carried.
Secretary Changeover: Kathy Barrett will provide Kathy Hussey copies of past meeting Minutes and email addresses for the Board. Sherry will meet with Kathy Hussey and Tim Placey at a convenient time in the near future to go over the Courtesy Boat Inspection information.
Treasurer Changeover: Sherry provided bank paperwork for signatures of Kathy Barrett and Tim Placey.
Dates of 2009 Events:
Christmas in July – will be the 24th, 25th & 26th. It is always the last full weekend in July. Sheila asked how everyone felt it went this year. She expressed that she felt people are losing interest and made suggestions of changing the theme, possibly making it a kids event. Kids could help with judging. Music is needed. More boats should participate and register in advance indicating participation. Details could be provided in advance via newsletter, bulletin boards, newspaper, etc. It was suggested to have Santa at The Bus earlier in the day to generate excitement. Kathy Hussey said she felt maybe some lack of participation evolves from having repeat winners yearly – though the judges don’t know who the property owners are nor who won the previous year.
Coffee Social – on June 27th – tentatively scheduled to be held at the Lind property – though if someone else wants to host, it can be changed.
Ice Cream Social – on August 8th – possibly from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It was expressed that few people ate dinner there first, most just came for the free ice cream. It was felt that maybe if the time was changed, more would attend and eat first. It was suggested that having a couple of “specials” offered by The Bus for the day might be a suggestion and bring more traffic. More discussion at a later date.
Golf Scramble – on August 15th.
Annual Meeting – must be within two weeks of July 4th. The date scheduled was July 11th. Tim said he would ask Tom Ward if the meeting could be held at the new school.
Around the Pond Yardsale – was discussed with the consensus being to continue holding it every other year – on the Christmas in July weekend. Therefore, 2010 will be the next year held.
Tim expressed that he wants involvement in the Association and doesn’t want anyone to be afraid to make suggestions or express their thoughts. He wants to see the membership grow, possibly a membership drive – it is “everybody’s” Association. It was mentioned that individuals with unpaid membership vote at meetings. It was discussed how long the Association should send the newsletters to non-members – with it being added that several participants in the CBI are not members of the Association.
It was noted that there are some website changes in process – with past newsletters being archived in addition to past water quality info. Tim said he would like to see things added to the site – such as Officer Meeting Notes and the budget - there are fixed costs, insurances, etc.
It was suggested that the Association purchase a gift/certificate for Pam Wintle in thanks for her ongoing work on the website.
An “Ice Out” contest for spring was mentioned.
Tim said he will be looking for Newsletter input from others – Planning Board, etc. Two newsletters are done yearly – one in the spring and one in the fall.
Ron Ashworth said the Planning Board is reviewing Ordinances and Wetland Maps. He added that the Plumbing Inspector (no longer the Code Enforcement Officer) is the person in charge of making the decision on whether or not a pond property can be converted from seasonal to year round.
Dave Clement will continue to work on LakeSmart efforts. He is trying to get concrete authorization that Peru is ready to move forward, probably 2009– there are 21 names on the list.
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